The nightmare for residents of Flint, Michigan could soon come to an end. Billionaire businessman Elon Musk pledged on Wednesday to clean up the city’s drinking water.
Flint’s Mayor Karen Weaver and Musk agreed on Twitter to have a telephone conversation on Friday about the specifics of how he could help to end the water contamination crisis. See below:
Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and co-founder of electric carmaker Tesla, tweeted that he’s serious about his pledge, which seems to have come from nowhere. “Please consider this a commitment that I will fund fixing the water in any house in Flint that has water contamination above FDA levels. No kidding,” he tweeted.
Please consider this a commitment that I will fund fixing the water in any house in Flint that has water contamination above FDA levels. No kidding.
This comes against the backdrop of Musk offering to help in the rescue of the Thai youth soccer team players who were trapped in a flooded cave for more than a week, showing that Musk is putting his money where his mouth is.
Cost-cutting measures by state officials led to the tainted drinking water crisis in the majority Black city. Flint’s water supply became contaminated with lead and other toxins after Michigan changed the city’s water source in 2014. Residents soon began complaining about the water tasting and smelling funny, but officials ignored them. Tests conducted by the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) and Virginia Tech in 2015 uncovered dangerous levels of lead in the water at residents’ homes.
Michigan now claims that the city’s drinking water meets EPA standards, but many residents don’t trust the state officials.
13. Scenes From The Demonstration Against Racism At Starbucks
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14. Scenes From The Demonstration Against Racism At Starbucks
The scene inside the Starbucks at 18th & Spruce about an hour ago, where protesters demanded that the manager who called the cops on Thursday be fired#BlackLivesMatterpic.twitter.com/upByNqLa6U
— Indivisible Philadelphia (@IndivisiblePHL) April 15, 2018
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15. Scenes From The Demonstration Against Racism At Starbucks
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16. Scenes From The Demonstration Against Racism At Starbucks
21. Scenes From The Demonstration Against Racism At Starbucks
Peaceful protest at @Starbucks by people of all colors. To the one aggressive man across the street arguing for his “white privilege,” you are outnumbered. Get used to it. pic.twitter.com/DDjMfBmDF5
22. Scenes From The Demonstration Against Racism At Starbucks
The protest is growing outside the @Starbucks. The woman on the right in the red shirt is 90 years old and told a story about her father who died when she was 9 as a result of racial profiling and police brutality. pic.twitter.com/DxQb5OYtSG
Continue reading Activists Protest Racial Profiling, Arrests Of Black People In Starbucks
Activists Protest Racial Profiling, Arrests Of Black People In Starbucks
Black Lives Matter activists called for a boycott of the Starbucks coffee chain just days after an employee called the police to arrest two Black men inside a Philadelphia location were not buying anything and wouldn't leave. Despite a number of factors that should have convinced police to show discretion and restraint -- the men were not armed; they were not violent; they did not resist arrest; the White man who they were meeting yelled at the police that the men did nothing wrong; a bystander filmed the entire episode on video -- then men were still taken into custody Thursday.
The video has since gone viral.
https://twitter.com/missydepino/status/984539713016094721
The first of what is expected to be many protests took place April 14 at the Starbucks location in question.